Rondo loss puts damper on exciting victory

BOSTON -- Walking off the court after 58 minutes of hard-fought, inspired basketball, the Boston Celtics had every reason to be ecstatic.

Boston had just gone blow-for-blow with the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference top dog Miami Heat, and the Celtics left the court at TD Garden as a 100-98 double-overtime winner. But on this chilly January afternoon, the Celtics' biggest win of 2012-13 came at a season-altering price.

Boston will be without the services of All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo for the remainder of the season. Minutes after the Celtics returned to the locker room filled with excitement, they were deflated significantly when head coach Doc Rivers informed them Rondo has a torn ACL in his right knee.

"I knew it before the game; no one else knew it," said Rivers, whose team snapped a six-game losing streak. "I just didn't think it was any time to tell any of our guys that. It was pretty emotional in the locker room."

Rondo suffered the injury late in the game during Friday night's double-overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks. He played through the pain in the final minutes of that game, and was scheduled to start Sunday's game before he was scratched in pregame warm-ups. He was taken to a local hospital for an MRI and the Celtics announced the injury during the second half. Rondo returned to the Garden late in the game and watched the Celtics pull out the win.

The loss of Rondo figures to be extremely damaging to the Celtics.

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There is no other guard on the roster that remotely mirrors Rondo's dynamic skill set. He was voted as a starter for the Eastern Conference in next month's All-Star game and was averaging 13.7 points, 11.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds.

The Celtics, now just 21-23, will have to fight for their playoff lives without their floor general and will have some serious decisions to make in regards to their future come next month's trade deadline.

"It was a great win. You're on an emotional high in the locker room and then you see that Rondo's going to be out for the season. You have a lot of mixed emotions in here. You want to celebrate the win but you know you feel for your teammate, a leader," said forward Paul Pierce, whose 22-foot jumper with 30.4 seconds left in double OT put the Celtics up for good, 99-98. "It's a tough pill to swallow."

Added forward Jeff Green, "It's tough to hear that news when one of our top players goes down. But we have to be there for him and we just have to continue to build off today. The season goes on and collectively we have to step up."

The shocking Rondo news totally flipped the script on what was originally the game's premier storyline -- the return of Ray Allen. The smooth-shooting future Hall of Famer helped Boston to a title in 2008, but spurned the Celtics in the offseason by taking less money to play with rival Miami.

During a video tribute to Allen on the Jumbotron in the first quarter, he received a loud mix of boos and cheers, but more cheers. When he finally checked into the game with 4:39 left in the quarter, he again heard a rowdy mix, but this time more boos. Allen finished with 21 points (7-for-17) and five rebounds in 38 minutes.

"All those emotions came streaming back from all the great things we did here," said Allen. "That's why I say I'll always remember the big games we played in and won, and I always know I'll always be a Celtic in my mind, regardless of what anyone else says."

Amid all the drama was 58 minutes of edge-of-your-seat basketball. There were 19 lead changes, 20 ties and even a brief skirmish between Celtics forward Jared Sullinger and Heat forward Rashard Lewis.

LeBron James was immense for Miami (28-13) with 34 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. Pierce countered with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. James drained the 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime, tying it at 87-87 with seven seconds left in regulation. That was seconds after Allen missed a three from the corner.

In the first overtime, Kevin Garnett (24 points, 11 rebounds) had all six of Boston's points, including a nine-foot jumper with 1:14 left that tied it at 93-93. Those were the last points of the frame.

Pierce and guard Jason Terry (13 points) combined for all seven of Boston's points in double OT, with Pierce scoring the final three points of the game.

The actual game, thrilling as it was, seemed like a minor detail afterwards. Rondo was all the talk, and the popular sentiment that his injury leaves the Celtics destined for disappointment this season.

"Well, you can write the obituary. I'm not," said Rivers. "You can go ahead. But I'm not. We won today, and so the way I look at it is: We're going to stay in there. In my opinion, we're going nowhere."

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